Jerome Wetzel is the Chief Television Critic for Seat42F and a regular contributing reviewer on Blogcritics. He also appears on The Good, The Bad, and the Geeky podcast and Let's Talk TV With Barbara Barnett.

Amazon Contextual Product Ads

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Alcatraz finale asks more questions than it answers

FOX's Alcatraz
brings season one to a close this week with "Tommy Madsen." The second
of two new hours, "Tommy Madsen" finds the gang closing in on the
elusive man thought to be pivotal to the main plot arc. But the closer
they get, the more mysteries spring up. And Rebecca (Sarah Jones) finally catches up to Tommy, who happens to be her grandfather (David Hoflin), only to have him stab her.

Those expecting the answers to a few questions in the season finale of Alcatraz
will be disappointed. Yes, a handful of clues are given as to who is
behind the appearance of the '63s in 2012, as well as how they got here.
But the purpose behind such an experiment is still completely unknown,
as is the science responsible for the feat. A new character may shed a
little light, as he appears in a hidden room that Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill) finally unlocks with a trio of keys, but he does not get the chance to spill anything before the episode comes to a close.

Similarly, Lucy's (Parminder Nagra)
romance with Emerson is brought into the open, and his deep feelings,
which keep him faithful for fifty years, are mentioned. But there is not
any background given as to how Emerson built and funded the task force
investigating Alcatraz, nor the circumstances around Lucy coming back.
Or why Lucy is wanted dead by the bad guys, more so than the rest of the
team. Sure, guesses can be hazarded, but confirmation is nice, too.

A major development in "Tommy Madsen" is that Emerson and company
discover that the '63s are popping up all across the country, not just
in San Francisco. Why only in the U.S.? Well, that isn't explained. This
sets the stage for a broader story, and perhaps even a less procedural
plot, going forward. This is welcome, as the case of the week focus,
prevalent through much of this season, drags the story down. New cases
should be integrated, not stand alone. Thankfully, as time goes on, each
individual begins to play into a larger whole, making the entire thing
more cohesive. And now the scale of this series has just blown up a to
be much, much larger.

Oh, and Rebecca dies.

Rebecca can't be dead. She is too important to Alcatraz, and
while main characters can sometimes be killed off, this one cannot, at
least, not yet. The question is not, what happens now that she's dead,
but instead, how can they bring her back to life? The Alcatraz docs have
been shown doing some pretty crazy medicine. Surely there is a solution
to this problem related to the '63s. Or Walter Bishop could lend them a
hand.

Which means that Alcatraz needs a second season. Currently
on the bubble, it isn't fair to the fans who have invested thirteen
hours of their lives if none of the major questions get a satisfying
answer. Clearly, the vision the writers have for this series is only
just getting started, and there would be no good way to bring things to a
close in a single season. So give them another couple years to really
lay out their plan, and then judge them as to whether it works or not.
The early signs are good, and getting better every week, much like the
first season of Fringe, a show of which some of the Alcatraz creative team are alumni. Allow them a second chance to prove themselves. Please.